Brisbane - Affordable & Liveable Property Guide 2nd Half 2018

Affordable
Suburbs - Brisbane

Between 2017 and 2018, the number of houses sold in the Brisbane
City Local Government Area (LGA) grew by 5.0%, yet the median house price
softened by -1.0% to $670,000. The Brisbane LGA unit market has also become
affordable as prices softened by -1.0% to $439,000 in 2018.

A key finding in this report was the difficulty to find
affordable and liveable houses in all pockets around Brisbane. In previous
reports, suburbs with affordable and liveable houses have been spread
throughout Brisbane, however for the first time it is all concentrated on the
north side of Brisbane.

Table 1. Top
Performers in the Brisbane 2nd Half 2018 report

In Queensland (QLD) the proportion of income to meet home
loan repayments increased to 28.1% over the past 12 months to the June 2018
quarter, and the number of first home buyers decreased by -3.6%. These figures suggest
that QLD housing affordability has further declined3, as over the past 12 months to December
2017 quarter, the number of first home buyers increased by 13.4%. Table 2
provides the percentage of suburbs in Brisbane that is available for house
buyers.

Liveable Suburbs - Brisbane

Over the past 12 months between the 2nd half of
2017 and 2nd half of 2018, there has been a softening in the
dominant price points for houses in Brisbane. Those with a budget of under
$500,000 have increased access, from 10.6% in the 2nd half of 2017
to 12.4% in the 2nd half of 2018. The $500,000-$800,000 price
bracket remains the dominant price range in the 2nd half 2018, with
a slight decline in the amount of sales activity. This is reflective of the
-1.0% annual median price softening in Brisbane LGA. Higher end price ranges ($1.0M- $2.0M) have
declined in activity, whilst the $2.0M+ price bracket has vanished in the 2nd
half of 2018.

The current Brisbane market suggests it is an ideal time to
purchase property, as auction clearance rates for QLD are falling well below
50.0% and a dominant shift to lower price ranges.

Affordable house suburbs, those with a maximum property sale
price of the QLD average state loan plus 60% premium, as per Brisbane 1st
Half 2018 hotspots report, exist. They are: Wynnum West, Doolandella, Tingalpa,
Coopers Plains, Boondall, and Taigum.

Although they meet the affordable criteria, these suburbs
fail to meet the liveability criteria. To meet liveability criteria, a 75%
premium needed to be added to the average state loan. This is quite close to
the 91% premium that needed to be added to purchase the median house price in Brisbane
Metro. This suggests that those looking for basic liveability aspects must be
willing to pay a high premium, making the cost of liveability quite high in
Brisbane. That said, this is not as high as Sydney and Melbourne, which still
makes Brisbane the more affordable option between capital cities.

Interestingly, Algester and Bracken Ridge, two suburbs
identified as affordable and liveable in the 1st half of 2018,
experienced high price growth in a short timeframe of 6 months, and no longer
meet the affordability criteria. This suggests the need for a more strategic
approach to quickly improve liveability conditions in several affordable areas.

Affordable & Liveable Suburbs - Brisbane

There have been slight fluctuations in the Brisbane rental
market over the past 12 months to Q2 2018, with the highest spike in rental
prices in Q1 2018. That said, rental prices have largely remained stable during
this time frame. Brisbane Metro’s vacancy rate continues to trend downwards
since December 2017 and was at 2.6% in June 2018, back under the Real Estate
Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. This suggests that the
Brisbane market is re-absorbing the oversupply of residential accommodation.
Brisbane Metro rental yield is 3.8% (houses) and 5.0% (units), well above that
of Sydney Metro (houses 2.7% and units 3.7%) and Melbourne Metro (houses 2.7%
and units 3.9%).

Brisbane will focus on residential projects in the 2nd
half of 2018, with approximately $1.4B dedicated to this sector. This will
cater to Brisbane’s population growth of 2.0%, which is the second highest
growth across Australia between year 2016-2017. Brisbane Quarter the One
Residential Tower ($300.0M) is the main residential project, set to deliver 466
units. The Wickham Street commercial tower ($90.0M) is a key commercial
project. The main infrastructure project is the Brisbane International Cruise
Ship Terminal ($100.0M). With $3.3B worth of development in the pipeline or
under construction in 2nd half 2018 there are many exciting projects
that will further attract commercial activity and population growth.

Methodology

This PRDnationwide
Affordable and Liveable Property Guide 2nd Half 2018 analyses all suburbs within the
Greater Brisbane area that are in a 20km radius from the CBD. The below factors
and methodology were considered:

Property trends – all suburbs considered will have had a minimum of 20 transactions for
statistical reliability purposes, with positive price growth between 2017 to
2018.

Investment –
as of June 2018 the suburb will have an on-par or higher rental yield than
Brisbane Metro, and an on-par or lower vacancy rate.

Affordability
– suburbs with a
median price below the maximum sale price of state average home loan plus
allocated premium percentage. In this report 75% (house) and 20% (unit) was
added to the average QLD home loan, which was $349,165 as at June 2018. This is
below the 91% (houses) and 25% (units) premiums needed to purchase the Brisbane
LGA median price, thus more affordable for buyers.

Project development – the suburb has a high total estimated value of future project
development for 2nd half 2018. This ensures sustainable economic
growth, having a positive effect on to the property market.

Liveability
factors – this includes ensuring low crime rate, availability of amenities
within a 5km radius (i.e. schools, green space, public transport, shopping
centres, and health care facilities), and an unemployment rate on par or lower
in comparison to the state average (as determined by the Department of Jobs and
Small Business, June Quarter 2018 release).